by Peter Howe

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Gibber! Gibber!

Chugley

The Gospel of Mark points to the identity of its central character

Most New Testament scholars agree that Mark was the first of the four gospel accounts to be written. Mark’s gospel is a simple, concise account, focusing more on what Jesus did than on what He taught.Jesus’ mastery of the storm shook the disciples to their core

Mark’s recounting of events has an ‘on-the-spot’ quality that is characteristic of eyewitness reports. Early Christian tradition closely associates Mark (not one of Jesus’ twelve chosen disciples) with the apostle Peter. Thus, they regard Mark’s Gospel as mainly recording the reminiscences and preaching of Peter, who refers affectionately to Mark as “my son” (1 Peter 5:13). However, Mark himself might have seen some of the events. Many scholars believe he was the anonymous fleeing naked man in Mark 14:51–52, an event not mentioned by the other Gospels.

John the Baptist prepares the way for Jesus

Before Jesus is introduced to centre-stage, however, Mark puts the beginning of His ministry in its proper scriptural context by quoting two Old Testament passages (Malachi 3:1; Isaiah 40:3) which point to John the Baptist as the one sent by God to ‘prepare the way’ for Jesus (1:2–3). The devout Simeon was just one of many who were longing for “the consolation of Israel” (Luke 2:25). One can appreciate, therefore, the excitement that ran through the country when John appeared in the Jordan valley, breaking four centuries of prophetic silence and proclaiming the urgent need for repentance in view of the imminent appearance of the ‘Coming One’. And, to quell any speculation that John himself might be the ‘Coming One’, he self-effacingly declared, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. I have baptized you with water, but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit” (1:7–8).

Jesus in a boat on Lake Galilee

In our mind’s eye, then, let us follow a typical day in the earthly life of Jesus (as recorded in Mark 4). It is morning. The shores of Lake Galilee are crowded with people who have come to hear Jesus. He is so hard-pressed by the milling crowd that He gets into a boat and puts out a little way from the shore. They listen with rapt attention to His every word as He teaches them many things in parables.

As evening approaches, Jesus dismisses the crowd and, at His behest, the band of disciples sets out to cross over to the eastern side of the lake. Jesus, exhausted after a long hard day, settles down in the back of the boat for a sleep.

Suddenly there is a furious squall. Lake Galilee is notorious for sudden storms of this kind.

Jesus calms the storm

This was no ordinary storm. The boat rolled, pitched, and was tossed like a cork. The waves broke over it, almost swamping it. But Jesus slept on. Nothing seemed to disturb Him. Finally, in desperation, the disciples woke Him. “He awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, ‘Peace! Be still!’ And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (4:39).

Jesus’ mastery of the storm shook the disciples to their core: “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” (4:41). This phenomenon is more than a mere display of His power; it is a clue to His identity. John’s Gospel explicitly identifies “the Word” as God (1:1–2) and affirms His role in creation: “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (1:3). And to remove all doubt about the identity of “the Word”, John affirms, “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (1:14). Alan Cole writes, “Only He who had created the wind and the sea in the first place would dare to address them so: and their instant obedience shows His full deity as Creator as well as Redeemer.” ¹

The key to understanding this incident on the lake is the disciples’ question, ‘Who is this?’ In chapters 5–6, Mark has recorded a cluster of supernatural episodes that provide further answers to that question.

Jesus and Jairus’ daughter

At the urgent request of Jairus, a local synagogue leader, Jesus is making His way through the crowd to heal Jairus’s daughter who is desperately ill. But in that crowd is a woman “who had had a discharge of blood for twelve years” (5:25), resistant to all available treatment. The assurance came to her that if she could only touch the hem of Jesus’ garment, she would be healed of this terrible affliction (5:28). As Jesus passes by, she touches the corner of His garment and is instantly healed (5:29).

Meanwhile, the impatience Jairus must have felt while this was happening can readily be imagined. And then to hear that his daughter had died (5:35) must have been devastating! But Jesus said to him, “Do not fear, only believe” (5:36).

At the house the elaborate ritual of Jewish mourning had already begun. Jesus said to them, “Why are you making a commotion and weeping? The child is not dead but sleeping” (5:39). Some have taken His words to mean that she was only in a coma or trance-like sleep, but the scorn of the mourners indicates otherwise. Jesus meant that her death was not permanent.

Jesus reverses death

Mark preserves Peter’s recollection of the words Jesus used as He took her by the hand: Talitha cumi (“Little girl, get up!”). Her response (5:42) made an indelible impression on everyone, especially Peter. Jesus had demonstrated that His authority over creation extends beyond the grave. And He showed His thoughtful care by commanding that she be given something to eat (5:43).

Feeding the 5,000

Apart from the Resurrection, the feeding of the 5,000 (6:35–44) has the distinction of being the only miracle recorded in all four gospel accounts. Out of deep compassion for the needy crowd who were “like sheep without a shepherd,” Jesus had foregone a much-needed time of rest with His disciples and instead “began to teach [the crowd] many things” (6:34).

As the shadows lengthened, the disciples came to Him with the suggestion that it was time to send them off to buy food for themselves (6:35–36). But Jesus ‘put the ball right back in their court’: “You give them something to eat” (6:37). Their incredulous response sets the scene for Jesus’ multiplication of the five barley loaves and two small fish so that all could eat and be satisfied (6:39–42).

Genesis creation power on display

The miracles recorded in Mark are not capable of being explained via natural causes, nor did they require long ages, or any appreciable time, to occur. Such miracles would be utterly impossible without the kind of supernatural power that could create the world and its creatures from nothing in six days.

The miracles recorded in Mark are not capable of being explained via natural causes, nor did they require long ages, or any appreciable time, to occur. Such miracles would be utterly impossible without the kind of supernatural power that could create the world and its creatures from nothing in six days.

The multiplicity of fish created by Jesus to feed the crowd had no ancestors—evolutionary or otherwise. Though dead, their biological makeup was hardly less complex. To bring them into existence as Mark records requires the same kind of power and ability as that needed to create the first fishes of their kind—also without ancestors—within the day-night cycle of Day 5 of Creation Week.

Mark’s Gospel contradicts theistic evolution

Yet it is precisely that ability which theistic evolution, increasingly dominant in ostensibly Christian theological institutions, implicitly denies. It does so by insisting that the creation of fully-formed fish, humans, or any other creatures could not—or at least did not—happen in the way that Genesis plainly teaches. That is, fully-formed and requiring neither ancestors nor long time periods, just as Jesus here demonstrates.

When Jesus had calmed the storm on the lake, the disciples asked in awe, “Who is this?” In chapters 4–6 of his account, Mark gives a convincing portrayal of Jesus as Lord over nature (4:39; 6:48–52), over the demonic realm (5:1–20), over disease (5:25–34) and death (5:35–43), and as the true Shepherd of His people (6:30–44).

Jesus: God became man

Mark also gives a vivid portrayal of Jesus in His full humanity. He could express disappointment, even frustration, at His disciples’ lack of spiritual perception (4:13) and lack of faith (4:40). He needed sleep after a long, exhausting day (4:38) and sometimes felt the need to take ‘time-out’ with the disciples (6:31). And when confronted with a large crowd who “were like sheep without a shepherd,” He felt deep compassion for them (6:34).

Mark laments that for the disciples, ‘the penny had not yet dropped’ (6:52). Their experience of Jesus’ miracles, including His walking on the lake (6:48–49), should have awakened them to realize that He possessed the same supernatural power as that which the Old Testament ascribes to God—the very God who, as Genesis describes, “in six days … made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them” (Exodus 20:11).

In short, Mark has given us an authentic picture of Jesus as ‘God with sandals on.’ In Jesus, the Creator of the universe has become local.

The trustworthiness of the gospels

The four different gospel accounts have ‘undesigned coincidences’ that reinforce each other’s authenticity, including, e.g., in regard to the feeding of the 5,000. Mark says the grass was green (6:39) and that Jesus was escaping the crowds (6:31). Why green grass and crowds? John writing decades later says it was near Passover (John 6:4), just the time of year where there would be lush green grass and crowds. John also records that Jesus, testing Philip, asked him where they might get food (6:5–7). Why him? John had already said Philip was from Bethsaida (1:44). Luke, not John or Mark, supplies the answer: the feeding was near Bethsaida (Luke 9:10). Thus, the combination of these gospels makes sense of Jesus’ choice of Philip: someone with local knowledge. In such ways the gospel writers inadvertently reinforce the authenticity of each other’s reports. See creation.com/can-we-trust-the-gospels-williams.

Posted on homepage: 15 January 2025

References and notes

1. Cole, R. A., The Gospel according to St. Mark, Tyndale Press, London, p. 96, 1973. Return to text.